Life after Breaking Dawn
by dogsrplayful
Summary: A continuation of Breaking Dawn starting exactly where Breaking Dawn left off. Continuing on Bella and Edward's happy ending, with both of them vampires. Please give me a review so that I can improve the story, whether you like it or not. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Life after Breaking Dawn

Bella's POV

I put my hands on his face, and shoved my shield out of my mind again. I waited for his kiss which would surely come, but it didn't. I forced my eyes open, and found his face an inch from mine, and he was obviously trying to restrain himself. He saw himself in my thoughts, and the corners of his lips turned up in a smile. I smiled in return, and the tenor of my thoughts changed. He could no longer resist, and swept me up while kissing every part of my body he could reach. I giggled, and my shield snapped back into place. "Damn! Why do I have no self-control?" Edward murmured against my skin. I smiled. "Want to try to perfect your self-control?" I asked, and he set me down on my feet. I put my hands back on his face, but left my eyes open this time. As my flood of memories poured from my thoughts into his head, I could see them eating away his self-control. His hands balled into tight fists at his sides, and he let his face come an inch closer to mine before stopping it. Suddenly, I heard someone running towards our cottage. Then, there was a knock. "Can I come in?" Emmett's taunting voice asked. "Or are you doing something I shouldn't interrupt?" "EMMETT!! You broke your promise; you said you wouldn't say anything about my sex life!" I yelled, sprinting to the door. "Actually, I came to ask you for a rematch" he said when I opened the door. "Race you - and if I win, I'm allowed to say innuendos to the Cullen family only." He ran off before I could protest, so I sprinted after him into the trees. My leaping bounds helped me to overtake him in a few seconds, and I could hear Edward behind me. I paused for a second, running beside Emmett. "And if I win, you owe me a red Ferrari!" I laughed, and ran ahead. Emmett growled behind me. Edward ran up so that he was at my side. "A red Ferrari?" he asked. I nodded. "It's the most expensive car that I want." Edward chuckled. "When am I getting my red Ferrari, Emmett?" I yelled into the trees behind me, and I sprinted ahead to the arm-wrestling rock.

"That's going to be an issue" I muttered as Emmett finally reached the rock that we had had an arm wrestling match on earlier. I hadn't remembered that we had smashed the rock to smithereens during our last arm-wrestling match. "No problem!" Emmett told me, flashing his white teeth. "Right this way!" "How many arm-wrestling matches have you played, Emmett?" I complained as we headed through the forest again.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh, more than you know" Emmett replied as we raced through the forest with inhuman speed. We arrived at a rock alike the first one, and stopped. Emmett knelt beside the rock, put his arm on it, then beckoned for me to come. I was no longer nervous as I watched his muscle. I knew that I could beat him no matter how strong he was. I was at the rock in a sixty-fourth of a second, with my arm on the rock next to his. I stared him calmly in the face, and my obvious calm seemed to irritate him further. "Want to hedge bets, Emmett?" I asked. "Seeing as you already can't say anything about my sex life, and owe me a red Ferrari, what else is there to wish for?" I paused, pretending to think. "I've got one! How about you can NEVER, EVER interrupt me and Edward or Nessie in our cottage unless we specifically CALL YOU and ASK YOU to come?" I grinned, and Emmett growled back. "Ooh, very scary, big brother" I taunted. "Ready, one two three" he growled, and shoved against my hand. I decided to taunt him a little; I let him shove my arm until it was a quarter of an inch from the rock. He grinned in triumph, and shoved harder on my arm. It didn't budge. We sat there for a full two minutes, and slowly his grin faded until he was scowling at me. Suddenly, I shoved hard as I could so that his arm was laying down on the rock. "Remember, no interruptions!" I cried happily as he growled. "Can I have Bella back, Emmett?" asked Edward's velvet voice behind me. Emmett said nothing, but growled and shifted into a hunting crouch. I imitated his movement, and then waited as he sprang for me. I simply skipped aside, and watched with satisfaction as he flew by me and crashed into a tree. I glanced at Edward, and saw his face a mask of worry and fear.


	3. Chapter 3

"Don't worry" I mouthed to Edward as his eyes found mine. I turned back to Emmett to finish our battle, and saw him already in a hunting crouch. I dropped into a crouch, and then waited for him to lunge. "NO!" shouted Edward, jumping in front of me. I straightened up immediately; I didn't want to be anywhere _near_ hurting him.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"He was going…to bite you" Edward snarled through his teeth.

"But I'm already a vampire!" I protested.

"It wouldn't kill you, but it would hurt….as bad as the first time." Edward spat through his teeth at me.

"Sheesh, it was just a thought, Edward!" growled Emmett. "Now let us get back to fighting!"

"Alright, Emmett. If you can get me on the ground in three minutes, you win, and if you don't then I win. Now, if I win, you need to teach me how to fight, without ever attacking me or making me attack Edward. And I get to attack you. Deal?"

"And if I win, I get a black Thunderbird." Emmett growled back.

"Deal. No backing out, and we don't have to shake on it. I don't feel like moving." I sprang at Emmett, and clung on when he tried to shake me off. I used one leg, and nailed him in the shin with my toe. He howled, and bent over. I used the opportunity, and gave him a hard shove in the backside. I heard Alice's tinkling laugh. "We need to teach her how to fight!" chuckled Jasper. Emmett fell over, hitting the ground with a loud _thud_. I sprinted over, and seated myself on his back. "Bella, you'll win in 5….4….3....2….1….You win, Bella!" called Alice.


	4. Chapter 4

"HAH! I win! Fighting lessons begin in two minutes, no questions asked, in the clearing. I don't have to attack anyone but you. You can't attack me. That was the deal. See you in two minutes!" I released Emmett, and ran off, leaving him cursing on the ground. Edward caught up with me in approximately one and a quarter of a second.

"How do you do that?" I asked, in amazed irritation, which was not the first time I'd said that since we met. Edward laughed loudly without breaking his pace and I struggled to keep up.

"Seriously, teach me!" I begged, and then made the mistake of looking into his amber eyes. I completely lost what I was thinking, and was completely immersed in the glow of his beautiful eyes.

"Someday" he murmured.

"Wha – huh?" I asked, yanked out of my daydreams. Edward chuckled, and then explained.

"Love, you asked if I could teach you how to run so fast" he said gently. Behind us, I could hear the chuckles of Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme as they began running. Obviously, they had heard our conversation. Emmett's loud guffaws annoyed me, seeing as he was in no position to "antagonize the strongest vampire in the house", as Edward had put it.


	5. Chapter 5

I arrived in the clearing approximately two and a half seconds after Edward. Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Carlisle and Esme weren't far behind me. I crouched down in front of Emmett. He huffed a sigh, then began.

"OK, now spring for my neck if you can. Try to catch my back." Emmett grumbled.

"Ok! Stay still!" I called out cheerfully in my bell-chime voice. He growled as I leapt onto him. Resisting the urge to attack me, he jerked suddenly. I growled, hearing – and seeing – Edward growling at the same time.

"Emmett! Watch yourself!" Carlisle warned, stepping forward, before Edward could spring at him.

"Bella, love, maybe that's enough for one day." Edward murmured to me, his face holding the blackest fury. I pouted. I didn't really want to end, but the way Edward had phrased it made it seem like it wasn't a question.

"It's getting late" Edward added, looking up at the sky, then meaningfully at me. My stomach instantly curled into a ball, knowing what he meant. It wasn't that late; if I were a human, I would be eating dinner. But our cottage stood waiting for us, and Emmett would no longer be teasing me about my sex life. Carlisle probably knew what he meant, but pretended he didn't for Renesmee's sake.

"Ok" I agreed.

We said our goodbyes, and I was careful to give Emmett an extra hard squeeze. Not enough to hurt, but just enough to make him let out a small grunt. He glared at me. I smiled angelically back, and with that, Edward and I left for our cottage.


	6. Chapter 6

Edward and I got to our cottage in a slow, human way. Nessie was asleep in my arms and I didn't want to wake her up. Edward took the house key out of my pocket, and unlocked to door so that I could walk in. He locked the door behind us as I started towards Nessie's room. I gently put her in her crib, and kissed her forehead. Edward copied me then grabbed me. He swung me into his arms, and carried me to our room. He carefully shut the door, and then set me on the bed.

"We won't wake up Nessie?" I confirmed.

"Absolutely not. She dreams vividly, and you forgot- we're vampires." Edward whispered. Oh yeah. I'd forgotten how graceful and silent we were when we wanted to be. I looked up, and met Edward's eyes. They were full of a longing that I'm sure was in my face, too. Unable to help himself, he laid himself down next to me, and kissed me.

I was startled by Renesmee's cry, and instantly jumped out of bed. I looked back at Edward, my sadness copied into his face. He laughed happily.

"Let's have a day off. We'll drop Renesmee at Esme and Carlisle's, then come back." He murmured, flashing to my side to kiss me again. I kissed him back, as intense and urgent as he was, and somehow we ended up on the floor. I groaned, and Edward laughed.

"I need to stop tackling you!" I moaned aloud. As if in response, Nessie's piercing cry rang out again, and I heard her climb out of her crib. I flitted quickly to the closet, and heard Edward follow after me.

"Give us a minute, please, Renesmee" he called.

"I can walk there myself, you don't need to take me" declared Renesmee. I froze in horror, and then relaxed as a heavy knock sounded on the door.

"JACOB!" Nessie shrieked happily, sprinting to open the door. I heard the doorknob squeak as Renesmee turned it easily.

"Hey, Nessie!" Jacob's husky voice answered. "Where are your parents?"

"We're in here" growled Edward. I heard Jacob chuckle to himself, and he approached the door.

"Don't come in!" I half-shrieked. Jacob laughed again. "Why don't you take Renesmee to Esme and Carlisle's?"

"Bye!" he called, and walked away with my daughter.


	7. Chapter 7

"Well, don't bother getting dressed" Edward murmured in my ear. I smiled, and wrapped my arms around his warm body. The sunlight was shining brightly through our window, reflecting off the tiny pond in the garden. My husband swept me off my feet, so quickly that it surprised me again.

"Hey!" He didn't bother responding, and instead pressed his lips to mine. I forgot about everything surrounding us, from the white bed to the sand-colored floor to the bright sunlight filtering in from the window and reflecting off the pond. I wrapped my arms tighter around him, and kissed him back. His eyes focused on mine with a love so deep, it nearly matched mine.

"Wait" I murmured once. Edward jerked back, willing to do anything I wanted but surprised and hurt by my words. I smiled and stroked his cheek with my fingertips. He moaned, low in his throat, and bent his head to kiss me again. I kissed him back, and then gently pulled away. I tried to show him that I didn't want to stop, but wanted to do some thing else. He set me on my feet, and slid his lips down to my neck. It was very distracting as I put my hands on his face. Edward realized what I was doing at once, and instantly pulled away. His face was full of excitement. He squeezed his eyes shut, and locked his muscles into place as best he could. I smiled, leaned against him, and shoved my shield out of my mind. It wasn't nearly as hard as it had been earlier, I noted to myself. I was confident that I wouldn't forget it, thanks to my vampire mind. I felt Edward suddenly twitch, and I jerked out of my daydreams in surprise and worry. Edward's eyes opened in response to something.

"Don't worry, love" he murmured. "I'm fine." I was shocked for a second, until I remembered that I was projecting my thoughts. Edward smiled; obviously he found my thought path funny. I looked into his light amber eyes, wanting to show him the effect it had on me. He heard what I was thinking, and bent his head to kiss me. I didn't remind him of the shield distraction, but he remembered. Edward froze in place, thinking before he realized he could still hear my thoughts. I thought about the morning sunlight on his face, and the beautiful effect it had on his face. He hesitated for a moment, then bent his face and brushed his lips against mine. I sighed, feeling and thinking the effect it had, and the happiness it brought. His lips were like a warm satin robe in a warm summer day.

"It doesn't distract you, love?" Edward murmured, his lips moving against mine. I suddenly realized that he could still hear me, even though our lips were touching-something that would have, _should_ have brought the shield back down, shrouding my mind from him. I explored the shield briefly, and found that I could now hold it back with less difficulty. I smiled against Edward's face, and curved myself deeper into him. Edward couldn't help himself, and yanked me over to the big white bed. It was all I could do to avoid hurting him as I curled into him until our bodies were once more one.

"Not distracting?" Edward asked again, with puzzlement in his voice.

"Apparently not" I realized in shock. _Perfect_, I thought. _Looks like we can practice this while doing our…nightly activities._ Edward laughed at my wording for what we were doing, and we sat there in peace.


	8. Chapter 8

With a little bit of strain, I managed to keep the shield from my mind throughout the rest of the day. We ended up laying on the bed, although not resting and also not just sitting there. I could feel Edward's warm hands trailing gently up and down my spine, and his smooth lips on mine.

"I must have improved at my shield" I muttered absently around his mouth.

"Of course you did!" laughed Edward. "After all, it was YOUR shield that kept the Volturi at bay!" I sighed. I hated it when Edward started praising me like this.

"Why?" asked Edward in a whisper. This time I remembered that I was shoving my shield away from my mind. I answered the question in my thoughts, not bothering to speak aloud. I couldn't help remembering the conversation I'd had with Jacob when I had snuck away from my imprisonment with Alice when Edward himself was gone. Flashes of dimmer human memories came back, like when Jacob had asked me what attracted me to Edward. _Is it the money? _He'd asked. _Or is it the beauty?_ I remembered my snappy reply, and felt his body tense completely in response. I froze as way of reply, and then looked up in confusion. His glittering, beautiful face momentarily stunned me; it was contorted with anguish.

"What did I do?" I asked, not bothering to try to hide the confusion in my voice. He could hear it in my thoughts, anyway.

"You – have no idea – how hard – I've been trying" Edward whispered, his voice not entirely hiding the pain he felt. "I don't _want_ to make you unhappy. And yet here you are, finally revealing that I've been tying in the totally wrong directing. It's agonizing!" His weak attempt to crack a joke and smile failed, the smile ended up as a grimace. His breathtaking amber eyes were tight, and the agony was evident. Then his face turned serious again. "Seriously, though. Did you really say I was _decent_? And that I was _kind?_ Do you have any idea how incorrectly you viewed me? I still think that our whole love might have been a mistake. You didn't seem to realize that I was fighting the urge to kill you every second we were together!" I flinched back from his sharp, cutting voice, and he relaxed slightly.

"Sorry. That was sudden. I shouldn't be mad for the past." His eyes were a bright, happy golden again, but I couldn't trust that. Edward laughed cheerfully at my suspicion from past experiences.

"Don't worry, it's over. I'm happy again." He assured me, laughing happily. I smiled, and continued with my memories.


	9. Chapter 9

My next memory was on the verge of being dim. It occurred during my change, and I was very careful about which parts I displayed. I tried to drown out my agony from the fire by overlapping my agony at _his_ agony. It didn't seem to entirely work, though.

"The morphine didn't help?" Edward whispered into my ear, and his tone was calmly amused. I ignored the question, and remembered the first time I'd seen him in the sun, then when I saw his car in Port Angeles. Eventually, I ran out of memories, and started to muse thoughtfully about being with Edward forever. I didn't notice that the whole day had gone by until I saw that our little pool had turned black with the night sky. _Where's Jacob and Renesmee?_ I wondered mentally. Edward's breathtaking face suddenly became alarmed, and jumped up, pulling me with him. My shield snapped back into place with this surprise, and I didn't bother trying to heave it back again. Edward could see my panic on my face, anyway. I heard Jacob come sprinting up to our door from a few miles away, and rushed to the door with Edward to open it for him. Jacob hadn't arrived yet, so I buried my face in Edward's chest, smelling his cool cotton shirt. Eventually, Jacob was bounding up our pathway, and he was just as alarmed as we were. Edward's alarmed face became furious, and a growl began vibrating from his chest.

"You LEFT HER ALONE!" he snarled at Jacob.

"There's no time, bloodsucker!" growled Jacob back. "I'm going to change." Jacob stomped into the bushes to phase, and Edward began running forward. I followed, easily keeping pace.

"What happened?" I asked in a hoarse voice. Edward sighed.

"Really. No editing!" I insisted. Edward sighed again, then began recounting what he had heard in Jacob's head.

"Jacob and Renesmee were playing hide-and-seek in the clearing. Jacob was counting in the clearing, and Renesmee would run into the forest to hide. Jacob was listening carefully to her footsteps, of course. He heard other footsteps, but that's common, as there are hikers all over. Suddenly, Renesmee's footsteps disappeared, and the heavier stranger's started fading. He never heard any screams, so he assumed that she had found a hiding spot. He started looking for her, calling out periodically, and then he started to panic. He used his serious voice, which Renesmee knows, but she didn't come out. He searched for her for about half an hour, then came here in a panic. I can't believe that the moronic DOG let her run off by herself! Just when I thought that I could trust him with our daughter so that I could spend a day with my wife!" Edward was truly snarling by the end, spitting the words through his teeth. I shot a glance at his face, and it was contorted with the blackest fury possible. I heard Jacob's sloppy, wet heart beating behind us, and turned to see the shaggy, russet-colored furred wolf following, with even his wolf face in a panic.

"Jacob will now lead us to where Renesmee's footsteps stopped." Edward said, and it was obvious that it was an order rather than what he had read in Jacob's mind.


	10. Chapter 10

Jacob lead us to a part of the forest about 100 feet from the clearing. He whimpered, and Edward translated.

"Jacob says that he came by here to see if there were any other scents. He says that there was one, a vampire smell, but he couldn't identify it. We will try to identify the scent. You won't know, but you can learn." Edward bent down on his hands and knees to inhale the ground. I copied him, and the scent was unfamiliar to my nose.

"Hmm...That's strange. It's a human scent-maybe Gianna's." I desperately ranked my brain to remember any Gianna that I'd ever known. Edward turned to me.

"The Volturi" he said quietly. I froze instantly.

"Crap!" I hissed. "Why would Aro do this to us?" Edward was already shaking his head before I could finish.

"Not Aro, Bella. I was hearing strange thoughts, but paid no attention. The person, let's assume Gianna, was very careful not to think about her master. She was actually reviewing Renesmee's picture." Edward suddenly seemed to remember that Jacob was there, and whipped his head to the side.

"Jacob. You're faster than us. Go get my family, and all the werewolves who will be willing to help. We'll meet in the clearing." Obviously Jacob was unhappy about accepting orders from a vampire, but he nodded his head once, and sprinted off. I wasn't sure if Edward had done that so that we could be alone. I could feel the shock dominating my face, and struggled to compose it.

"What are you thinking?" Edward whispered. I clenched my hands into fists, and heaved the shield out of my mind again. It wasn't too hard, seeing as I was infuriated at the person who had kidnapped Renesmee. As my black fury filled Edward's head, his face filled with his own anger, matching what my face probably looked like. Renesmee was kidnapped.

She could be killed.


	11. Chapter 11

All of the Cullen family was now gathered in the clearing. There were also three wolves-Seth, Jacob, of course, and Leah. I was slightly surprised when the female tan wolf appeared. As far as I knew, we were not on good terms. I slowly approached her, trying to be non-threatening.

"Leah?" I whispered. She turned her nose toward me, and whimpered quietly. Edward appeared behind me.

"She's…understanding. Even when you were human, she got into an argument with Jacob over Rosalie's actions. She was defending, not intentionally, but Jacob took it that way. She told him that she understood Rosalie's point of view." Edward paused, editing something in the wolf's thoughts. Leah turned her head towards him, and growled softly, an annoyed sound, not threatening. Edward's mouth turned up in my favorite crooked half-smile.

"OK, ok" he told the wolf. "She told me not to edit" Edward informed me. He took a deep breath, winced from the smell, and started again. "She told Jacob that you always want what you can't have. Leah's happy you survived. She can't…have children, and wants to be friends so that you might be able to share, in a way. She wants to help find Renesmee, to become friends with her, as well." Edward looked at the wolf suddenly. "No, that's too personal for me to share. Scratch a message in the dirt or something. Find a way to communicate it. I'll talk to the others, inform them of the situation." Edward turned and walked briskly towards where the vampires were waiting. Seth and Leah already knew the whole story, naturally. I turned back to the wolf, with a gentleness in her eyes that I hadn't noticed before. "You're menopausal, aren't you?" I asked softly. She yelped and ducked her head, indicating positive. I smiled slightly. "So am I." Leah barked a low laugh, then licked my hand gently. "Come on, Leah. Let's go back to the others."


	12. Chapter 12

Everyone in the clearing already knew the whole story. Edward had informed them while I was talking to Leah. Suddenly, Jacob sat down, and howled. "Calling Quil and Embry" Edward murmured to me, tense at my side. In seconds, we all heard the sound of claws digging into the soil as the two wolves ran to the clearing. In seconds, they too were sitting by Jacob's sides. Edward took a deep breath, as everyone was looking at him. "You all know that Renesmee has disappeared" he began, glaring at Jacob. Jacob ducked his head. "We need a good strategic way to search for her. Here, Carlisle, Jasper, and Emmett." Edward tossed small silver cell phones to them. "Call me if you find a scent. Rose and Emmett, go north. Bella and I will go south, Alice and Jasper will go west, and Esme and Carlisle will go east. As for the wolves, Leah can come with Bella and I, Seth with Carlisle and Esme, Quil with Jasper and Alice, and Embry can go with Rosalie and Emmett. Jacob, you try and find any scents possible. And think as hard as you can to try and find the direction that it's going." Everyone nodded, and set off in the direction they were going. Jacob instantly ran to the last place that he and Renesmee were together, and Edward and I went south. I didn't bother leaving my shield up, because I wasn't sure how exactly my voice would sound. "It's okay, love" Edward murmured in my ear. We'll find her." But his voice was every bit as tense as my thoughts probably were. We continued to race onward in silence.


	13. Chapter 13

Renesmee, Renesmee, Renesmee. She was all I thought about as Edward and I continued to race onward into the forest. Her lovely ringlets, hanging to her waist…her ever-changing body, quickly growing…Every second I missed being with her was precious.

"Ugh!" Edward groaned beside me. I turned with slowing my pace, questions in my eyes as well as my thoughts. "Quit thinking about that" he groaned. "You're killing me!"

"What do you want me to think about?" I asked, trying to smile. I started thinking about what we would do at night…

Edward groaned. "Not that much better" he muttered.

"I know." I sighed. In order to distract myself, I had to let my senses range out around me-smell, sight, hearing…

Suddenly, I heard a noise. Not just any noise, but my daughter's voice. I turned to Edward, and his face was taut. Not with victory, or happiness, but…anger. I wondered what could possibly bring this reaction out from him. "Captors." was all he said. My eyes widened, and I struggled to keep my muscles from locking up. _Captors?_ What did he mean _captors? _Who would want to capture Renesmee? Edward's hand slid into his pocket, and flipped a small object to me. As it spun through the air, I saw that it was a cell phone. "Call the others" he demanded. I started with dialing Alice and Jasper.

"Alice!" I shrieked into the phone when I heard her voice. Thankfully, I didn't need to explain. Alice saw what I was going to say, and she cut in as I began.

"I know. Call Esme and Carlisle, I'll call Rose and Emmett." I sighed in relief, and dialed Esme's number.

"Bella? Edward?" Carlisle answered. "It's me" I began.

"What happened?" he asked. I explained quickly, and from the other end, I could hear the wind whooshing past as he and Esme changing course, running towards us. "We'll be right there" he assured me, and disconnected. I turned to hand the phone back to Edward, only to find that he wasn't there!


	14. Chapter 14

I froze, turning in a full circle as I looked for Edward. I found him, a ways back from where I was standing. He had frozen, staring at something across and invisible boundary. Of course! How had I not noticed before? We were running along the Quileute boundary line, and as I ran back to Edward, I realized that I hadn't smelled Renesmee's scent since we had run by the place where Edward was standing.

"Sam" he greeted at something invisible.

"Edward" replied Sam's voice as he came through the trees. He had nothing but a pair of shorts on in his human form, and at his heels was two wolves: Jacob and Embry, I realized.

"The scent crosses the boundary line" Edward pointed out. "May we, speaking for the rest of the Cullens as well, have permission to cross the line in search for our daughter?"

"Granted. Carry on." replied Sam, and we rocketed into the trees again, this time with me paying more attention to the scent line.

A few minutes later, there was a change. A new scent joined the two that we were already following. A moment passed as Edward leaned down to sniff at the ground carefully. "Another unrecognizable scent" he complained in frustration. "And no thoughts, either. They outran my limit!" Edward grumbled in frustration. I paused for a second as I realized what that meant. Edward couldn't hear their thoughts, which meant that he didn't know anything about them. He didn't know if they were sadistic, about to hurt our daughter, if they had any special gifts, or if they were going to hurt us! I let my shield expand, pushing it further until I felt all of the Cullens and the wolves under my shield. Beside me, Edward hissed as he was suddenly cut off from my thoughts. Anxiously, he turned to me. "What's wrong? Did they hurt you? What did they do? Did they-" I sighed as I cut him off. "Relax, Edward. They didn't do anything to me. I'm just shielding all of us." I watched his face carefully, trying to read his eyes. "You're shielding Rose and Emmett, Carlisle and Esme, and Alice and Jasper, too? I can't hear them yet-does your shield really go that far?" I shrugged, not knowing exactly how far away they were.

"Edward, our daughter's out there. What are we waiting for?" We set off once more.


	15. Chapter 15

Edward and I ran for what seemed like only a few minutes, although that was probably because of the simple thrill of the exhilarating speed. We curved along Renesmee's scent line, weaving in and out of the green maze. I watched Edward's face as carefully as I could, checking every now and then to see if his mask had changed at all. So far, it hadn't. His face was still the same controlled, balanced mix between angry and grieved that it had been since we had left the house. I checked his face again, scanning it carefully. Still no change…I wondered if he was that practiced, or if his face actually displayed the true emotions that he was feeling. I checked again, just to make sure. Hmmm. It seemed like something was different...Yep, there it was again...a slight glimmer in his eyes that wasn't there before. Just as quickly, it was suddenly gone. My hopes plummetted, just as absolutely as the glimmer was gone.

"Edward!" I shrieked as I was suddenly lifted off the ground. His lips silenced mine, crushing down on mine. There was a new freeness in this kiss, not like our normal kisses, nor like the kisses at night, or like the kisses before we parted, the ones with "Desperation" written all over them. Edward's lips moved more freely, with happiness in them. I could feel my anger start to ebb away, and with it my ability to shiled my family...Suddenly, I heard a noise, the only one that could have any chance of distracting me. Someone was coming.

"Bella..." I heard Jasper warn as he found us first. Suddenly, he groaned, gripping his hair with his hands. Edward pulled away for a brief second, grinning, with his arms still around me.

"What?" I asked. It seemed like I was missing out on a joke here. Jasper, in obvious agony, and Edward grinning like a madman. Edward laughed aloud at my question. Personally, _I_ couldn't see anything funny about my question...

"Your emotions, Bella" Jasper groaned, dropping to his knees beside Edward. "You're making ME want to kiss him!" I burst out laughing, a loud peal of bells. I could Alice's tinkling laugh as she broke through next, coming to stand next to Jasper. Carlisle came next, grinning, before he rearranged his face into the gave mask again, with the only telltale sign of the previous humor in his twinkling eyes.

"We've got to continue searching for Renesmee, Bella" he said, obviously stuggling to keep the grave face on.

"Fine" I sighed quietly, and watched Jasper's face, giggling, as his pain subsided.

"Ah" he sighed. "Much better." Jasper rose te his feet, and shot a warning look at Edward. "But, if you do that again, Edward..."

"Don't worry, Jasper," Edward chuckled, then added in a low voice just loud enough for all of us to hear, "...not yet anyway..." Alice burst out laughing, probably at the vision in her head. Jasper groaned, and buried his face in his hands. Even Carlisle and Esme, and Rose and Emmett, who had just appeared, chuckled slightly.

"Well, we didn't come and meet you to see you guys making out-or doing anything else..." Emmett began. I would have blushed at the suggestive look on his face if I could. Jasper saved me from my embarrassment.

"Yes. Alice and I actually found a point where her trail splits into two. We followed the one that you guys weren't taking, and it led to a different place than this trail was." he announced.

"It was thinner, and I saw a cave at the end of it." Alice continued, taking over from her lover. My hopes soared. A cave? Could Ness - Renesmee, I corrected myself mentally, - really be being kept there? At the mere idea of someone locking up my daughter, my anger flared again and my shield shot out. I clenched my fists as I pushed it out, in the hopes of shielding my daughter. Jasper's face was shocked at my sudden anger. Alice suddenly jumped up, clapping her hands excitedly.

"You did it, Bella!" she shrieked. "You've gotten your shield around Renesmee! That's 3,000 miles out!" I gasped. 3,000 miles? No wonder Edward couldn't hear Renesmee's captor's thoughts. But then another thought entered my mind.

"You can see her!?" I gasped, nearly denting her arm from how hard I was gripping it.

"Off. First" she gasped, and I remembered that I was a newborn. I released her arm, and concentrated on my shield, shoving it further outward to use the extra energy that I was suddenly supplied with.

"Okay" Alice began, rubbing her arm. I shot her apologetic look, which she ignored. "So yes, I can see them...sometimes." I was confused. What did she mean, sometimes?

"I only see Renesmee. Whoever captured her is either blank, with no planned future, or there is no captor and she just ran away." Carlisle, Edward, and Jasper instantly began a discussion.

"Empty...how odd" Carlisle mused.

"Or not present" Jasper suggested.

"No. No way" Edward nearly snarled. "Someone else's scent was with her. There is no possible way on Earth that that idea would be possible."

"Unless the scent was rubbed onto her, and then she ran away" Jasper suggested.

"No. That would be impossible. First of all, Alice would have seen it, and secondly, she would have come back" Edward growled.

"I think the empty is the most logical answer. It's a threat to consider, so whether or not this is involved with Ness - Renesmee's dissappearence, we will need to investigate. It's a threat to not only our kind, but the wolves and the humans too. So I personally say that we should go to this cave." Carlisle put in. Jasper and Edward both nodded slowly, because although they didn't want to accept it, the logic in Carlisle's argument was unassailable.

With everyone agreed, we changed direction and set off to the cave.


	16. Chapter 16

"Jasper? What are they feeling?" Carlisle's voice broke the silence that had settled around us all as we ran to the cave Alice had seen. "We're probably within a good distance now, you should probably be able to hear them."

"I'm...not sure" Jasper announced after a long pause. "I...can't tell. If they are empty of futures, then they are also empty of feelings as well." The silence settled again.

"And thoughts" Edward added eventually. The Cullens's perfectly controlled faces became identically blank and staring.

"How?" Esme asked finally. Her voice, like her face, was black, devoid of any emotion. _Not unlike Nessie's captors,_I reminded myself. Unconsciously, the whole Cullen family slowed to a walk. Now we were traveling at a speed that a human with exceptional eyesight might have caught a glimpse of. None of us liked the fact that we were heading into the unknown and possible danger that lay ahead of us. _The danger that Nessie's in_, I reminded myself.

"Well, looking at this scientifically, they could be farther, too far away for your gifts to work" Carlisle suggested. Jasper, Edward, and Alice were all shaking their heads before he'd finished.

"Carlisle, it's not like I can't hear them because we're too far" Edward replied. "It's more like I can feel their thoughts _presence,_ but I just can't tell what they're thinking. Like Bella" he said, looking at me. Jasper was nodding along with what Edward said.

"Yeah, Carlisle. I mean, we can feel their bodies, but they just don't have any comprehensible feelings - or thoughts" Jasper added.

"Yes, I can see their past, in a way. I just can't see what their future is. Reminds me of the wolves" Alice said suddenly, looking thoughtful as we fast-walked.

"Can we save this argument for later? PLEASE? Nessie's up there, and since Alice can't see what they're gonna do or Edward, what they're thinking, and NESSIE is in that danger!?" Rosalie's voice was near hysteria. Emmett was rubbing her shoulder, trying to calm her down. Jasper was frantically trying to shoot her calming waves, I deduced from his expression, but from her still frantic expression, it wasn't working. Either that, or she was refusing them somehow. I could feel the slight ripple in my shield as Jasper's calming waves flowed silently and ivisibly towards Rosalie. I could also feel the point where the waves seemed to disintegrate, a good five feet away from Rosalie's physical body. Esme's voice yanked me out of my reverie. Her voice, like Rosalie's, was frantic.

"Come ON! Rose is right. Nessie's in danger, for all we know!" she near screamed. I felt Jasper's ripples begin to migrate towards her, too, although they didn't meet any more sucess than those that were directed at Rosalie. Eventually, the ripples ceased, and I assumed that Jasper had given up trying to calm the frantic females.

With all of the Cullens agreed, we set off to the cave at a faster pace, trying to save my daughter.


	17. Chapter 17

"There it is" murmured Edward. I strained my eyes to see, and sure enough, there was a small dark dot in the distance. I noticed how Edward's hand tightened around my own, as did Carlisle's around Esme's, Emmett's around Rosalie's, and Jasper's around Alice's.

"We'll be there in about two minutes, but I can't see anything that'll happen after that. The future just...vanishes" Alice said, her chiming voice sounding slightly confused, and slightly scared.

"And I can't hear anything" added Edward.

"And I can't feel anything" interjected Jasper.

"Odd" murmured Esme.

"Puzzling" added Carlisle

"A prime condition for a fight" interjected Emmett solemly, nodding his head. Rose smacked him on the arm.

We arrived at the entrance to the cave that Alice had seen, previously just a small dot on the horizon.

"Hello? If you are there, please show yourself" Carlisle called cautiously into the cave entrace. No answer. Automatically, Jasper and Emmett moved in front, their respective significant others right behind them. I ended up right behin Alice, Edward on my right side and Esme on my left. To my right, Edward had Carlisle on his other side. I assumed that Carlisle and Esme had taken it upon themselves to protect their so-called "children". Slowly for vampires, we advanced.

"Nessie?" I called tentatively. My voice trembled from fear, although it was mostly fear for my daughter.

"Nessie, please, if you're there, show Edward where you are so that we can come get you" called Rose, whose voice, like mine, trembled slightly.

"Ahh...now I see..." muttered Edward. Suddenly, he raised his head. "Where are the wolves?" No sooner had he said that than Jacob's pack was right behind us.

"Sam's pack refused to come" translated Edward for the russet-brown wolf in front. "So, it's just them. Embry, Quil, Leah, Jake, and Seth are all here, though. I think that's the whole pack." he told me.

"Where's Nessie?" hissed Rose. Her mood obviously had not improved with the arrival of the wolves.

"Depends on what you mean, Rose" Edward told her, making eye contact. "I can see her surroundings, but not how to get there."

"What are her surroundings, then?" If her voice didn't give her emotions away, it was Esme's grief-stricken face that revealed how she was feeling. Carlisle rubbed her arm soothingly.

"Well...she has bars on one side...but it's blurry, and hard to tell. Seems like she's barely conscious." murmured Edward, eyes distant.

"BARS?!" shrieked Rosalie. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, _BARS_?!?"

"She wasn't captured, that's why we couldn't hear, it seems..." muttered Jasper, deep in thought. "She walked into a trap..."

"Or did you?" a voice hissed menacingly out of the darkness, with an emphasis on "you". A large clanging sound echoed through the caves before we realized we were trapped.

******

"Nessie!" I shrieked, my voice echoing in the darkness.

"Shut up, and you will be reunited. But, be warned, it will not be a happy reunion" the voice promised, this time into my ears. Alice wailed, clutching Jasper's arm, who was holding onto her in much the same way that she was gripping him. Rosalie hissed, smacking Alice's arm gently.

"Shush! I know that Bella and I wanna see Nessie" she reminded Alice. Alice was instantly quiet.

"That's better." The whispered voice echoed around the cave, as did almost every other sound.

"Who are you?" Carlisle's voice didn't tremble, sounding braver than he probably felt. A ghostly chuckle echoed through the darkness.

"That's right, I suppose I haven't introduced myself." The voice was closer this time. "You can call me Jeremiah." Why did that name ring a bell? I scrolled through the memories, going through first the clearer memories. Oh!

"Edward" I whispered. "Nahuel...Jeremiah..." Verbally, Edward didn't respond, but I could feel him tense beside me. I could also smell the human scent that came off of him, and it took all my power to not attack. I held my breath most of the time, only breathing when I had to speak.

"Jeremiah. Nahuel mentioned you." Carlisle said curtly.

"Oh. Nahuel? When did you see him?" Jeremiah said in a hard voice. His body was held in a straight line, vertically.

"When we fought the Volturi. I don't suppose they've paid you a visit?" Carlisle's voice was less friendly then I had ever heard it before. Those who hadn't heard Edward and I's brief discussion of Jeremiah and Nahuel gasped as they remembered the half-human's account of Jeremiah. As a human, he probably couldn't do anything, but I pushed the shield out around us.

"Your assumption is correct. I have heard of the Volturi, but never met them. Who are they?" Jeremiah's tone had softened with his curiosity, reminding me of the blond vampire who was talking to this human.

"They are the ruling coven of our kind" Carlisle told him. Silence ensured.

"What are you going to do to us? And where's Nessie?" Rose's voice trembled slightly. Jeremiah laughed harshly.

"With her, a few experiments are being conducted, mostly blood tests" he declared. "But she's not been eating. I've had my chefs prepare beef, everything tasty, but she won't eat. And every time I come near her, she snaps at me with these half-crazy eyes, like an animal." I couldn't stop the gasp. He was starving her! That's why she was only half-conscious.

"With you" the man continued with an evil glint in his eyes, "With you, my vampire friends, I will be testing diamond saws. Oh your skin" he clarified, although it was obvious. In the silence that followed, I swore I could hear the faint sounds of passage in the outside woods. But, I must have been imagining it, or maybe it was a human or werewolf in the paths. I dismissed it.

"With my werewolf friends" Jacob growled at the word 'friends', "I will be testing the very limits of their strength, bone strength, and length of time to go without food." All of Jacob's pack growled, sounding like one continuous growl that echoed throughout the cave. Jeremiah laughed.

"Now, friends, take a rest. Now is when you will see your precious child. Nessie, you call her?" The iron cage was not lifted, but started moving forwards via metal cracks that I hadn't noticed before. That was most likely because I was too busy listening for sounds of my half-human daughter. All of us shuffled along, moving epathically at a human pace. Jacob whimpered by my side, and I stroked his long fur. He stank, but the motion of petting him not only conforted him, but calmed me. Eventually, we got to a set of bars. They were thick steel, and it was obvious that none of us could break through. The width was about that of an overweight human. The gaps were small, probably ones that we might be able to sqeeze Alice's arm through. Jeremiah pushed a button on a remote in his pocket, and the metal bars lifted. Harshly, the cage around us tipped, still moving forwards, forcing us through the gap. Right behind us, the metal grate shut again, trapping us for as long as Jeremiah wanted.


	18. Chapter 18

**I'm so sorry that I didn't update earlier, everyone! My dog had an emergency, but she is fine now (only with bronchitis), so I can write again without being tormented by fear!**

**Now, on with the story...**

* * *

"Nessie!" I shrieked as I saw my precious daughter. She was slumped against one of the walls, thinner than I had ever seen her. Her hair was now down to her rear, and it fell around her body in waves. As she heard my voice, she raised her head, her eyes still closed.

"Mama?" she asked, unfocused. I couldn't stand it, and rushed over to her with Rosalie, Jacob and Esme on my heels.

"Oh, Nessie" I dry sobbed, wrapping her in a hug. Edward was right beside me, with Nessie's feet in his lap. Rosalie was sitting directly opposite me, gently pulling her fingers through my daughter's hair.

"Mama" Nessie whispered weakly, opening her eyes for the first time since we'd found her. "You...found me..."

"Yes, Nessie, we found you, sweetie" Rosalie crooned.

"What has that _devil _been doing to her?!?" I hissed to Rose. My daughter was barely conscious, and her ribs were beginning to show through her thin satin dress. It was the same one that Alice had put her in, outlining her curves. As I looked down, I saw her eyes begin to close again, and I was worried that she might not open her eyes again.

"Nessie, stay awake" I whimpered to her, trying to hide my fear.

"DUDE!!" I heard Emmett bellow somewhere behind me. "DUDE, I FORGOT YOUR NAME, BUT GET OVER HERE THIS INSTANT! WITH A LIVE ANIMAL THAT YOU WOULDN'T MIND SACRIFICING!"

"Emmett! Couldn't you be more polite? Find a better word than 'dude'?" Esme criticized, although it was halfhearted. Esme, like everyone else, was staring down at Nessie with worried eyes.

"Well, what would you do in my place? Call him 'sir' or something?" Emmett's mumbled reply was more to himself than to anyone in particular. No one answered, because  
Jeremiah had suddenly appeared with a duck in tow. He looked nervous, and he had good reason to. Emmett nodded.

"Shove it through the bars. And bring several more. Where it came from, there ought to be more." Jeremiah followed Rosalie's commands, which was wise of him. Alice could have gotten her hand through the bars, and if he had been within punching distance...

A quacking duck being shoved in my face ruined my disturbing daydreams.

"Feed it to her!" Esme cried. I wasn't sure how, but didn't wast time.

"Help me, Edward" I whispered as I began to pluck its feathers. I felt bad to be doing this while it was still alive, but I had to make sure that Nessie got all of its blood if possible. Once the duck was completely stripped of all its feathers, I wrapped Renesmee's hands around its feathers.

"I know this will smell and taste worse than humans, but please, Nessie. For me" I begged in a pleading voice. Gently, I helped my weak daughter raise the duck to her face to take a bite. Behind me, I could hear the frantic quacks as another load of ducks was delivered, then the quick footsteps of Jeremiah departing. Again, I swore I heard footsteps and quiet murmurs, but again I dismissed them as fragments of my imagination.

"Ugggghhh" groaned Nessie as she took a bite. "It tastes horrible!" But it was obvious that the blood was helping her. Her cheeks were quickly gaining color, reminding me of the way I had probably looked when I first drank the blood while I was pregnant.

"It's okay, Nessie" I whispered, relived. "I promise that you can have a treat of human blood when you get home. I promise, if you'll drink all of the blood that you need"

When that carcass ran dry, there were already several more waiting. Greedily, Nessie grabbed the closest one.

"Mmmmm" she sighed. "Animal blood has never tasted so good. I don't think I'l ever need human blood again. Forget that treat waiting at home"she told me, opening her eyes. They were sparkling with humor that had obviously been gained from the blood she was drinking. I laughed shakily.

"Next, please" she called, reaching for the next.

"Wait - don't throw that in a corner. I have a plan" growled Rose. Glancing over, I saw that she had the three duck corpses in her hand.

"Shhhhh" she whispered as she ducked into a corner, winking at me.

"Do you need anything more?" a timid human voice called. A gasp was heard as he saw Nessie, then the sound of something smacking something else was heard.

"Eeeeeeek!" Jeremiah shrieked, duck pelts falling off his face. He turned, running away. Emmett burst into laughter.

"Nice one, Rosie!" he snickered, giving Rosalie a high five.

"Now that we're done with the humor" Carlisle began quietly. "We have an issue on hand."

"Duh. We're trapped" replied Rosalie impatiently. Edward scoffed.

"Come on! We can dig ourselves out" he scoffed. Everyone froze as we realized the truth of his words.

"Come on!" Rosalie was already bouding away to the corner from which she had hurled the ducks at Jeremiah. Instantly, she started digging. Carlisle was over to where she was standing in a sixtieth of a second.

"Actually, we also have another issue, everyone" he murmured quietly. An echoing clang rang throughout the cell. Rosalie cussed.

"It's metal."


	19. Chapter 19

The silence after Carlisle's declaration was long.

"Well, why don't we just crack a hole in it?" Emmett asked, flexing his biceps. He started off towards the wall, but Carlisle stepped in front of him.

"Emmett, the idea with digging was to be silent to a human's ears, and inconspicuous. Banging a hole through the metal wouldn't exactly be _silent_." Carlisle stressed. Emmett grumbled silently, and I would have laughed if the situation wasn't so tense.

I swore I heard the sound of passage again.

"Edward, did you hear that?" I asked, getting nervous. When he didn't answer, I looked up at his face. It was frozen, tense. Listening to a stranger's unexpected thoughts. I locked down too, a small gasp wrenching its way in through my clenched teeth. It was so quiet that I could barely hear it myself, but it seemed to be important to Edward. He glanced down, as if suddenly remembering that I was there. Previously, I would have said remembering my existence, but I know that neither of us would _ever_ forget the existence of the other.

"Relax, Bella" Edward told me, suddenly smiling.

"There is NOTHING funny about this situation, Edward!" Rosalie cried, going back to stroking Renesmee's hair gently.

"No, there's nothing funny" Edward said, still grinning. Alice narrowed her eyes at him. Then, she suddenly smiled, and started humming to herself. Now it was Edward's turn to narrow his eyes at her.

"Alice" he growled. She shook her head, still humming. To distract her mind, probably. I wondered what she was hiding from him, but with Edward at my side, I couldn't ask her. Rosalie and Emmett exchanged a confused look, as did Esme and Carlisle. Now, there was no mistaking it, as footsteps echoed in neof the cave's many passageways. Everyone froze, except Renesmee, who raised her head at the suddenly tenseness in the air.

"Relax, Nessie" I cooed to her gently, before she could waste the energy speaking. "Nothing's wrong." Was that true? I had no idea.

"OK, Edward" Alice's tone had a ring of authority that I'd only heard once before. It was during the time when Edward was driving me fiercely away from James, and Alice commanded him to pull over. That was when I'd offered my plan, the one that had eventually landed me in the hospital, and we'd gone along with it. But obviously, we weren't in any danger, at least not from a sadistic hunter.

"Now that we're both hiding secrets, would you like to tell me yours first?" Alice's voice yanked me from my reverie. Edward growled.

"Your choice." Alice smiled angelically. Edward sighed, probably as she blocked her thoughts again.

"Alice, you know I hate that song" he begged. Well, that was what Alice was doing. I watched Alice carefully, glaring whenever she met my eyes. She glanced at Edward quickly, ascertaining that he was not looking, and then beckoned to me with one finger. My eyes lit up, although I tried desperately to hide it. Quietly, so I wouldn't wake her, I shifted Renesmee into Rosalie's lap. She looked confused. Obviously, no one but me had seen Alice's signal. At the sound of any movement from me, Edward turned. He watched me quizzically as I stood, and walked over to where Alice was. The tiny pixie grabbed my arm, pulling me into a secluded corner in the metal cell. I bent down, and her lips were at my ear. She murmured to me in such a small tone that even Carlisle, five feet away from us, probably couldn't hear.

"Bella, you know I'm not gonna give away the secret so quickly" she giggled. I sighed. Did I really expect her to tell me the whole thing right away? I startd to straighten up, but she yanked on my sleeve, pulling me down again.

"Seeing as you're dying to know, I'll tell you a _little"_ she sighed, emphasizing "little". Alice paused for emphasis, but she was too wound up to put it off longer.

"We will be outta here in...six minutes!" she told me, squealing in a high-pitched voice. I wondered how she could possibly tell me that without Edward hearing it in her thoughts. I glanced over, and watched his face light up. So that's why she was telling me. She was only making the suspense more painful for Edward. I grinned at her, and she smiled back. Together, we walked back to the others, me grinning like she'd just told me the best secret I had ever heard. Like Renee, I didn't like secrets, either. Edward glanced between me and Alice, his face frustrated. Obviously, he thought that Alice had told me more than he heard in her thoughts, impossible as it was.

"Fine." he said grumpily. "Alice, you tell me first." She shook her head, grinning as her bait worked perfectly. Alice shot me a look, and I understood what she wanted.

"Alice told me...that we will..." I paused, looking at Alice to make sure that I wasn't giving too much away. Apparently, I wasn't, since her face was lit up. Beside her, Jasper looked frustrated. Probably a result of Edward's frustration, if not his own for the same reason as Edward's.

"Tell me" Edward said. His frustration was so clear on his face that I almost giggled. Fortunately, I didn't because it would ruin Alice's little game. I pursed my lips, then shook my head. Edward raised his eyebrows in shock.

"I can't. Alice will KILL me if I tell you." I risked a glance at her. Alice was glaring at me, but only just. The rest of her face was delighted as her bait worked perfectly. We understood each other to the point where we didn't even have to verbalize things. Edward huffed indignantly.

"OK, fine. I heard Stefan and Vladimir." Edward's face was glowing. Around him, there were startled gasps as we alll wondered what they could be doing here. Carlisle, however, was the only to voice that question.

"Why would they be here?" Edward asked, smugly shaking his head. "That will come later. Alice?" Alice huffed a sigh as Edward beat her at her own game. But, knowing her, she had a few tricks up her sleeve. I listened intently, as Alice hadn't told me the whole vision.

She took a deep breath. "I saw..." Alice's dramatic, frustating preformance was interrupted by a bang and the sound of arguing. Unconsciously, we all stopped breathing. What was going on?


	20. Chapter 20

**I'm so sorry I didn't get this up earlier! I know I skipped quite a few days, and I'm so sorry for that. Also, I'd love to reply to your wonderful reviews, but for some reason, Fanfiction keeps saying that I am not the author of this story. Oh, by the way, please read and review my other story, The Twilight Saga: Esme's POV as well as this one!**

**Thank you to every one who review this story, I now have 100+ reviews! By the way, unhappy and unsigned reviews are accepted!**

**Now, on with the story...**

* * *

The arguing continued. Alice froze. Her eyes unfocused slightly as she looked ahead to the future.

"Huh, that's odd" she muttered quietly. "This was not part of the future, but the result in five minutes remains the same."

"Alice, just tell us the vision!" Edward exclaimed, frustrated.

"Fine, fine!" she cried, looking flustered. All of her dramatic performance was forgotten. "I saw Stefan and Vladimir! They were fighting Jeremiah, and then they..." she stopped suddenly, looking smug. Turning to face Edward, she asked, "You didn't think I'd give up that easily, did you?" Edward sighed, putting his face in his hands.

"Regardless, it's your turn" she told Edward. He sighed before beginning.

"Stefan and Vladimir will save us. They're not sure how-"

"Yes they are" Alice interrupted.

Edward continued like he hadn't been interrupted. "-but they are determined to save us. They actually ran into the Volturi on their way here, and the Volturi knew, but just weren't doing anything about it. They were still...peeved...that we weren't exterminated successfully." My respect for the Romanians rose, as did my hatred of the vampire kings. Maybe it _was_time for the world to be ridded of them altogether...

A loud clanging echoed, getting closer. We could hear voices now.

"No! Stay away from them!" Jeremiah (who Nahuel called Joham) demanded.

"Why won't you?" replied one of the Romanians cunningly. I thought it was Stefan.

"What were you going to do with them?" demanded Vladimir.

"I AM going to test the strength of their skin. It will help the scientific world" pleaded Jeremiah. Another echoing crash rung out. Footsteps were going closer, and I assumed that they were one of the Romanians's. The sound of passage was too quiet, too light, to be a human's. Of course, Alice's human steps may have been a seperate issue altogether...

"Cullens!" Stefan whispered as he approached.

"In here. But we're trapped." Carlisle replied softly. I started petting the wolf at my side instinctively, before realizing that it was Leah. I glanced at her, and she seemed to like it, so I kept petting her.

Stefan finally peeked around the corner in slight surprise.

"Well, well, well, you weren't kidding, Carlisle" he chuckled. Then he stopped. "But how are we going to get you out?"

"Well, how are we supposed to know!" shrieked Rose indignantly.

"Rose" Carlisle murmured, placing a calming hand on her shoulder. She took a deep breath, and by Jasper's suddenly intense focus on her, I assumed that she was taking calming waves from Jasper.

"Stefan, I noticed something that might help" I spoke up. Everyone looked at me, and I took a deep breath the calm myself. The cell smelled like rotting garlic, probably from when Jeremiah was testing some old legends on other vampires. Ones who probably weren't as lucky as us.

"I'm not sure if any of you guys noticed" I said, speaking to my family before addressing Stefan again, "but when Jeremiah put us here, there was a small button that he used to close the grates. He put it in his pocket." We all listened to the screeching noise in sudden horror, hoping that the button wasn't getting destroyed as well. Stefan streaked away as the noises died down, probably hoping to get back before the button was destroyed. In silence, we all listened as Stefan's footsteps and the clangs faded away, nearly in synchronization. Eventually, both noises died down, and all we could hear was the screecing of birds and other things outside of the cave. Then, footsteps were coming out way.

"I'm sorry, Cullens." Vladimir announced, hanging his head while beside him, Stefan did the same.

"I destroyed it."

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**I apologize. This was a short chapter to have to wait several days for. But, I had to end in suspense, so here it is.**


	21. Chapter 21

Rosalie was the first to break the silence.

"Helpful!" she snarled.

"Rose!" Emmett and Carlisle murmured at the same time, each placing hands on her shoulders. Jasper started the calming waves again, and I could practically hear his thoughts. _Geez, Rose, calm your temper!_ Edward rolled his eyes beside me, obviously having heard my thoughts. Rosalie shook the hands off her shoulders. Jasper created a calm, tranquil and logical atmoshpere around us. Carlisle took a deep breath before speaking.

"OK, everyone, let's look at this logically." he said. I felt the calming waves reach me, and I also took a deep breath, noticing that everyone else did the same, even Rose. On Jasper's face was a smirk. Did his mood really cause an urge to take a deep breath? Ugh. There was a horrible wet dog smell in the air. I noticed all the other vampires wince, too, as the nasty smell hit their nostrils.

"Alright, so the button must not be the only way, right? And since we no longer have to worry about secrecy, we can just bang through the wall!" stated Emmett. Everyone looked at each other in surprise as we realized that that might actually work.

"OK, that will work...mabye" Alice told us, sounding nervous. That was odd. Alice's confidence never wavered, and she was never nervous, certainly. "But, the Volturi are coming. Soon. The wolves will not be included, I can tell you that, because I can actually see with crystal clear clarity." Jacob whined slightly, looking at Renesmee. I snarled at him quietly, smacking his head.

"Jacob! Don't worry about _her,_ worry about yourself!" I snarled at him, then changed my mind. I turned to Alice.

"Alice, where will Nessie be?" I swore I saw a smirk on Jacob's wolf face. Alice's eyes unfocused as she looked ahead to the near future.

"I'm not sure..." she muttered. "Nessie is...not present. Probably with the moron dog." She shot a glare at Jacob. The wolf rolled his eyes. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. Even if she stank like a dog when she came home, she would be safe, and that was all that mattered. Carlisle, owever, was still musing over what Alice had said at first.

"The Volturi...." he muttered. Stefan and Vladimir nodded in synchronization.

"Actually, that's what we came here to your residence for," Stefan began in a grave voice. I nearly rolled my eyes. Why did the ancient ones talk so dramatically?

Vladimir nodded in agreement.

"We have been thinking" he continued. "You're always thinking" muttered Edward to me, so low that no one else would hear. Vladimir continued on.

"It is time for us to be ridded of the Volturi altogether." he finished. Carlisle looked pained.

"Vladimir....I lived with Aro" he said unhappily. Vladimir was shaking his head.

"No, Carlisle, we wouldn't destroy the ancient ones" he said gently. "Only the dangerous ones, like Jane, Alec, and the bond-breaker." Carlisle still looked unhappy. I knew how he hated the destroying of life.

"Don't worry, Carlisle" Alice assured him. "Your record will still be clean. The mugrat dogs aren't going to be in this one, so I can see clearly." Seth rolled his eyes at Alice's term. Obviously, she was running out of good insulting words for the wolves. I put my focus back onto Carlisle, and saw that his face was more resigned, although still unhappy. Personally, I was delighted. Although most of the other Cullens had respect for the ruling coven, I had never liked the Volturi. Honestly, it would be a relief to release some of my newborn strength, which I had been bottling up, letting out only on arm wrestling matches with Emmett. Instintively, I flexed my bicep. Emmett chuckled, flexed his, then put it next to mine. Thanks to my newborn strength, mine was still bigger. I was almost to the end of my first year, but I still had the strength.

"Alice, how long until the Volturi are here?" Edward asked. Alice's eyes unfocused again before refocusing.

"About an hour. So if we're gonna pound through this metal, we need to work really hard!" Emmett started pounding away almost instantly. CArlisle nodded to himself before coordinating the rest of us.

"OK, the wolves can help Emmett. Bella, you definately need to use your strength to help, as with all of us. Edward and Alice, give us alerts. Alice, every ten minutes, and Edward, when you can hear their minds, then how fast they are moving. Stefan and Vladimir, can you find out where this tunnel leads?" The Romanions nodded, darting away at the speed of sound. I blinked.

"Come on, Bella!" Rose hissed from beside Emmett, where she was pounding frantically. I quickly jumped over, then started punching and kicking as hard as I could. Where I kicked it, the metal bent severely out of shape. In a few seconds, Edward was beside me, but with a sharp rock in his hand. I looked at it curiously without breaking my rhythm.

"Move for a second, please, love" Edward asked me quietly. I nodded, switching places with him. Edward quickly banged the rock, sharp point first, into the metal, where it punctured. Emmett grinned, taking over Edward's spot to rip to hole open larger. Eventually, it was large enough that Alice could slide through.

"Ten minutes left" she murmured before sliding smoothly into the hole. Jasper darted over to stand protectively over the gap where Alice had dissappeared into.

"Jazz, move" Emmett snarled quietly. When Jasper didn't move, Emmett simply bumped him out of the way before ripping open the hole, a lot larger. Jasper was next to slide quickly into the hole. I went next, then Edward. Behind us, I could hear Rose and Emmett, and behind them, Carlisle and Esme. Jacob had Nessie, and he was going right after Esme.

Inside the tunnel, it was dark. To a human, it would be impossible to see anything, but my new eyes were able to make out the shapes of the curves.

"Jasper? Alice?" I called out shakily. To my relief, I heard Alice's trilling voice.

"Right up here, Bella" she told me cheerfully. We could all stand inside the tunnel that Alice, being the first, was digging out. Jasper had reached her, and was trying to get her to fall back a little so that he could do the digging. I decided to make the most of my newborn strength, and sped up my pace to help out. With two working at it, we were able to move pretty fast. We could all hear Stefan and Vladimir digging to meet us halfway. Suddenly, Alice gasped, and her footsteps suddenly stopped. Jasper froze, darting back to stand next to her.

"Alice, what is it?" he asked urgently.

"Time's up" she said quietly. "The Volturi are here."


	22. Chapter 22

Almost as though to prove Alice right, the digging suddenly stopped, and instead, screeching filled the air. I wasn't sure who did what, but due to procedures, I guessed that Jane was putting Stefan and Vladimir in pain. I streched out my sheild, and therefore didn't notice Edward coming at me until I was suddenly lifted off the ground.

"Edward! Put me down!" I squealed playfully. Edward's jaw was taut, however, and he just shook his head.

"You need to protect all of us. I can't have you trying to multitask." I rolled my eyes, and smoothly jumped out of his arms. I grinned at him smugly.

"Nope. Not happening." I told him, then rushed up to help Emmett, who had taken my place. With my control over my shield, which had only improved over the years, I was able to multitask. Edward's arm suddenly slid around my waist, and I rolled my eyes at him, but didn't protest. With my human past, tripping over would not be a surprise, and now was not a good time to slip. It would probably cause Emmett to laugh so hard that he wouldn't be able to work. Not only that, but I would be tortured by jokes for the rest of eternity. I rolled my eyes at the thought, but didn't say anything.

The sounds of pain stopped as I streched my shield out further. But the growls and sounds of arguing didn't, as we got closer. Turing around briefly, I saw that Jasper was supporting Alice as her eyes were unfocused. But I couldn't let myself be distracted by that now. I turned back to digging.

After what seemed to be an eternity but was probably only a few seconds, we broke through. The Volturi had been distracted, and not noticed our approaching. They all turned, as seeing us, their faces contorted into masks of hate. Only Aro's remained clear.

"Friends!" he cried out delightedly. All of the Cullens rolled their eyes.

"Why don't you skip the pleasantries," Edward suggested, his face taut, "and just tell us why you came?" Obviously, he already knew the answer to his own question. Aro's face fell.

"Friends-" he began unhappily, but Caius cut him off.

"We came to destroy all of your illegal creations," he snarled almost happily, "your illegal child, your illegal treaty with the wolves, and your illegal shielding newborn."

"Well, we are willing to make an exception on the last law" Aro said, unhappily. "If Bella would like to come with us, then we can spare her."

"No. I'm with my family." I declared boldly. Stefan and Vladimir nodded in synchronization. Edward only squeezed me tighter. Caius sneered cruelly. Obviously, this was a part of his job that he liked.

"Well, then you don't leave us a choice, do you?" he purred. I snarled.

The Volturi's grey cloaks began to move closer and closer. It reminded me of a dream that I had as a human, when Edward and I were on our honeymoon. In the dream, the Volturi's grey cloaks swirled around and adorable baby boy...my child...

All of my family were posed to defend. Who was it who would attack first? One of my family? Or one of them? I knew that my question would be answered in a few seconds. And my prediction was right.

Jane lauched herself at Edward first. In terror, I forced myself to look away. Even if I didn't believe it, Edward said that he could take care of himself. I turned my head just in time to see Alec launching himself at me, and I sprang in return. I was terrified, although I tried not to let it show. All that Jasper had taught me was how to destroy newborns! But...I had watched Edward destroy Victoria when I was human, and I hoped that I could remember.

The echoing clash as Alec and I met in midair was deafening. His little face was bared in a snarl, and instinctively, I growled. I bared my teeth also, and then used my hands to rip off an arm. Alec shrieked. The sound scared me, because I was the one causing him pain. Even if he enjoyed causing ME pain, it was still wrong. Somehow, it turned me into a monster. I was suddenly met with a desire to end this. I though back to when Edward was fighting Victoria, a memory that had always been painful. But I shoved aside the pain, since I needed to concentrate. How had he done it? Right. Teeth across her neck...

But I had to catch Alec's back. I broke off from him, and started circling. Alec copied my every movement, then suddenly sprung. I stepped aside, catching his other arm as he flew by. It ripped off easily. His back was facing me, and I was lucky enough to manage to get my teeth across. His head disconnected, and it was over. I sighed in relief, but my relief was short-lasting. Jane had seen me destroying her twin, and she shrieked in defiance. She hurtled out of the circle that Edward and her were tracing and re-tracing, lunging straight for me. Edward's face was horrified, but Jane's distraction gave him the advantage of her back, and in one sweep of his jaw, it was over. Quickly, I looked him over as he did the same to he, both checking for damage on the other. I smiled as I found none, and he did the same. I was distracted suddenly as I heard a growl behind me. I snarled, and Edward's face became horror. I spun to defend myself, seeing that it was Demetri, flying through the air straight for me. Suddenly, he was knocked out of the air as he and Edward became a rolling ball of teeth and claws. I jumped in to help Edward as he had helped me, easily latching onto Demetri's back. I ended the fight before he could hurt Edward in any way, before turning back to the last remaining vampires. I suddenly realized that it was quiet, with no more sounds of fighting. Carlisle was quietly standing aside, looking at the bodies around us with pain in his eyes. But from Alice's prediction, I knew that he hadn't ended any lives. I reached for Edward instinctively, and his arm curled protectively around my waist. The wolves came to stand beside the edges of our family as we faced the three remaining Volturi members: Aro, Marcus, and Caius.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: OK, first of all, I'm so sorry to interrupt the story with an Author's Note! I know that I hate them too, but this is necessary.**

**Firstly, I'm so sorry for any confusion that I caused with the character Jeremiah; I didn't have Breaking Dawn with me at the time. I got the name wrong, thank you very much to the person who accidentally pointed that out to me in their review. Jeremiah is actually called Joham, so that's what I'll be calling him from now on. **

**Secondly, I have to thank all of my wonderful readers/reviewers. I now have 147 reviews on this story, so keep them coming! I'm trying to reach 1,000 if that's possible.**

**Finally, I need to thank one specific person (I'm sorry, I can't remember the name) who suggested a path for me to take from where the last chapter left off. The only reason why I haven't updated for so long is because I was out of ideas, but now I have a good plot in my head.**

**Again, thank you so much, all my readers and reviewers!**

**Now, on with the story...**

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Carlisle's compassion got the better of him as he sighed.

"Aro, I have been friends with you for so many centuries, and I cannot bring myself to destroy you, or have one of my family members destroy you," he sighed.

"But, Caius" he said, his face tightening. "Although I have known you for the same time period as I have Aro, you are unjust in your punishments. You tried to kill my son even after he said that he'd change Bella, which, as you can see, he has. And even now, we got a full translation of your conversation with Aro via Alice, and we can see that you are the one who talked Aro into coming here. And I cannot see why you think that the law claims all of us. Renesmee is not an illegal creation; unless you are willing to call the birth of every human baby an illegal process." Caius opened his mouth to protest, and Carlisle held his hands up to stop him.

"Admittedly, Renesmee is more than your average human baby," Carlisle went on. "But she has a heartbeat, and you can hear it. The immortal children had no heartbeat, Caius. Unless you think that we are finding a way to somehow fake her heartbeat, then we are not creators of an immortal child. She is half vampire, but grows, and in a few years, will be the same age as all of us. She has her own things to disguise, and therefore not a threat." Carlisle finished his speech, and looked expectantly at Aro. Aro took a deep breath before beginning.

"You are right, Carlisle. There is no known way of faking a human heartbeat. But she is still the unknown, and still a risk. Admittedly, my dear brother Caius is more passionate about forcing the law than I am, but maybe that is something I must change." Aro's response was weak compared to Carlisle's previously majestic speech. Caius looked hopefully at Aro, who nodded. Caius turned his head, glaring at not Carlisle, but Edward.

"What are you gonna do to me?" he hissed menacingly, yet still mockingly. Edward growled, and I grabbed his arm to hold him back. I looked at Carlisle. His face was like stone.

"Is that a threat?" Carlisle's voice portrayed a threat of its own. Caius glanced towards him, an ugly sneer on his face.

"Yes, _Carlisle,_ it is." I couldn't take it. I let go of Edward's arm, throwing myself towards the person who dared to threaten not only my husband, but also my father. I ignored the cries of warning from my family, so maddened with rage. I didn't even see Caius duck into a crouch of his own to intercept me until it was too late. I heard the cries of my family, two standing out more than the others: Renesmee and Edward. I felt Caius grab hold of my arm, and near rip it off before the pressure was suddenly realeased. A deeper roar that I had heard once before rang out, and I could tell that it was Edward's infuriated snarl. I could hear the sounds of fighting, and cries as people's aqquantiences were hurt. I was suddenly aware of a pain in my arm, so painful that I crumpled to the ground. There was a furious burn running up and down the length of my arm. Automatically, my eyes closed as I begun to black out, but I fought against my body, struggling to stay conscious. I heard Edward cry out suddenly, stopping whatever it was he was doing. I heard him run quickly to my side on the dirt floor. Something touched my hand gently.

"Bella?" Edward said frantically. "Bella, Bella, please answer me!" How I wish I could. The sounds of war raged around us.

"Carlisle!" Edward yelped frantically. Blackness was pushing down on me, so hard...

But I had to put Edward out of his misery first, let him know that I wasn't dead yet. I struggled to get anything, preferably my lips, to move, but all I could do was twitch my fingers. I hoped it was enough. I heard more quick footsteps coming up, but the sounds of war never ceased. I struggled to keep my hold on consciousness, to keep letting Edward know that I was alive...

Then the blackness closed over me.

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**Ok, I'm sorry for the short chapter! I'll update really fast, though, if I get tons of reviews. Also, check out my other story, The Twilight Saga: Esme's POV. Please. It's only about eight chapters short of the amount of chapters in this one, but it only has 10 reviews while this story has 147. Please, please, please read & review that one too. Thanks!**

**~dogsrplayful**

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	24. Chapter 24

I could hear Edward sobbing at my side. The sound crushed me to bits, made my insides writhe and twist. There was a pain in my left arm, not just once, but again and again. I realized that I had no clue where I was. I went back in my memory, to try to find bits and pieces that might hold any clue as to where I was. I remembered seeing the Volturi, fighting with Caius, the pain in my arm, then the blackness.

Right.

So I passed out. Odd, a vampire could pass out. I had no clue, I'd thought that that was a human reaction to pain. Carlisle would be very interested in that when I got the strength to tell him.

The pains in my arms stopped coming, and I heard something snap quietly.

"There," Carlisle murmured. "She'll wake up when she's ready." I listened closely for any sounds of war, any hint that we were where I'd gotten hurt. I didn't hear fighting, but I heard other voices. Other voices that sobbed in addition to Edward's. I listened closely, trying to reconize it. Alice was sobbing, Edward was sobbing, Esme was sobbing...Wait, hold on a second, I thought to myself. Why was Alice sobbing? Was I not going to live? I became more and more scared at that prospect. Not that I was worried abt my own life, I was worried about Edward's. When he saw me die, in front of his face, not just a thought, he wouldn't wait to go to the Volturi. Oh wait, there wasn't a volturi anymore. Well anyways, he would find some way to kill himself, faster than he ever had before. I concentrated, trying to bring myself back to my body. But when I did that, I was suddenly overwhelmed with pain, so I quickly escaped from the pain.

Uh-oh. If Alice hadn't seen me living, then that would mean that because I was out of the pain, I wouldn't be going back. The pain meant a body, one that, although immortal, could die. I though of Edward, Alice, and Esme, sobbing my side side, and mentally took a deep breath before jumping back into the pool of pain.

Pain. Pain. Pain. It was more than I had ever experienced, but it was fading quickly. I took another mental deep breath as the pain faded away. I heard an ever-so-slight rustle beside me, and then something warm and smooth touched my lips. A familiar craving burst through me, and I sighed. At the sound, all the sobs stopped. Suddenly, Alice squealed.

"Yay!" she screamed cheerfully. Edward leaned over to kiss me again. I struggled to get to my eyelids, but finally did it, and opened my eyes.

"Bella" Edward sighed softly with a smile. I looked around. We were not in the cave, and I'd expected, but in the Cullen's living room. The ten faces around me were all smiling and happy.

Wait. _Ten?_ I quickly scanned over the faces, attaching names to each one. Edward, Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Stefan, Vladimir, and Aro.

Aro.

Aro was here. My gaze lingered on him, and he smiled at me.

"Bella," he said gravely. I looked curiously at him. "Bella, it was wrong of us - actually, just myself now - to accuse you. Especially Caius. But he is dead now, and I am going to be joining your fascinating family." Aro looked sad as he bagan the las sentence, but was happier towards the end when he announced his joining. I smiled, sitting up carefully.

"Watch your arm," Edward warned. I looked down, then gasped in surprise. Even though Carlisle had only sewn it back onto my body about ten minutes ago, it was already almost healed. Edward was instantly helping me up.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt? What can I do?" he fired different questions at me. I sighed.

"Relax, Edward. I'm just surprised that it healed so quickly." I told him, rolling my eyes. To assure him of this fact, I smiled at him, reaching up to hold his face and kiss him quickly on the lips. He smiled.

"Mommy!" screamed Nessie, running iinto the room and jumping into my arms. Jake charged after her.

"Nessie! You'll hurt-" Jacob stopped short, seeing me holding her with a smile on my face.

"Geez, do you bloodsuckers have a healing gene or something?" he muttered, knowing that we could all hear him anyways.

"Watch it, Jake" I warned. Rosalie burst out laughing. Jacob just glared.

I turned back to Carlisle.

"Am I free to go?" I asked, just as Edward asked, "Is she free to go?" Carlisle smiled at us before giving his answer.

"Yes, Bella, you can go. Yes, Edward, she can go." he said. Everyone laughed.

"Just try to avoid activites that are too vigorous for the next two minutes," he added, with a wink.

I grinned widely, thankful that he hadn't said the whole night.

"Thank you, Carlisle, for fixing me up. Come on Edward, let's go. Nessie, do you want to sleep here, with Jake? Let me warn you, he snores" I told her. Jake shot me a dirty look. Nessie laughed before jumping smoothly out of my arms and into Jake's.

"Bye"he called. Edward and I waved before heading to our little cottage.

"Are you hurting?" Edward asked me for the millionith time since we left Carlisle and Esme's. I rolled my eyes at him.

"No, Edward, LOOK!" I nearly screamed at him. I rolled up the sleeve of the shirt I was wearing so that Edward could see that my arm was completely healed.

"All healed, Edward. It's been five minutes, not two. I can involve in vigorous activities for the rest of the night" I added, winking at him. Edward swept me up, kissing me as we headed into the bedroom.


	25. Chapter 25

"I'm getting sick of Aro!" I complained to Edward as we headed back to our house (at human speed so as not to wake up Nessie). I felt slightly guilty about complaining about our guest, since it was only the second week that he had been here. But the issue that I was having with him was one that bugged me tremendously. It reminded me of times when Charlie would try to be the boss of me when I was human, and my natural teenage instincts would fight back. But I wasn't human, and Aro wasn't my father, thank goodness for that. But the former leader of the Volturi kept trying to boss the Cullens around, insisting on us bringing him his "meals" from outside of town. When we refused for varius reasons, Aro would argue until Rosalie snapped at him, and then Aro went to hunt for himself. As he adjusted to Cullen life, he only became more demanding, even arguing about hiding when Charlie came over. That precaution was one that we Cullens thought that he'd understand; it was for vampire society's protection, not anything else. But Aro always acted like we had something personal against him, and played the guilt trip on Carlisle.

I looked up at Edward's face to watch his reaction. He frowned.

"Personally, I agree with you, love," he murmured quietly. "But in all honesty, he's a guest, and really we can't kick him out, although very much I would like to. Maybe even worse."

"Edward!" I whispered, shocked. I made sure that my shield was down so that he could hear exactly why I was shocked. And it was because although I harbored a dislike of Aro, I wasn't yet ready to kill him.

Edward's frown deepened. "You don't have to hear his thoughts." Edward muttered through clenched teeth. I rolled my eyes. Judging on Edward's reaction, I could probably guess what Aro was thinking about. There was nothing, except for maybe Renesmee, that Edward was more protective of than me. Edward's face pulled up into that beautiful, heart-stopping crooked smile of his. He reached up to gently sweep my hair away from my face. I sighed, closing my eyes, and leaned into his touch. I wasn't afraid of walking with my eyes closed; for although that would have been a life-threatening mistake for me as a human, as a vampire it was physically impossible for me to be hurt by a silly tree. I could sense it when Edward stopped beside me, and automatically, I stopped too. Opening my eyes, I caught a brief view of the ground before Edward swept me up into his arms. Pretending to be angry, I crossed my arms, pouted, and chatised him with my thoughts. Edward only smiled, and leaned down to kiss me gently before setting me carefully down on my feet. Suddenly, I remembered about Renesmee, sleeping in my arms. Edward opened the door for me, and I walked into our cottage. I place Nessie gently in her crib before turning to Edward.

"What should we do about Aro?" I asked him. He sighed.

"Talk to Carlisle, probably," he murmured. "I can come get him. This is becomimg unbearable for most of us." And Edward was out the door before I had a chance to protest. I sighed, sitting down on the large white bed. I could hear the voices of Carlisle and Edward approaching, and stood up. I walked into the hallway to greet them.

"Carlisle, please, Aro's presence is disturbing the life of Bella and I," Edward pleaded. It was probably uneccessary, since Carlisle looked like he was ready to kick Aro out himself. Carlisle sighed deeply.

"We'll have to get Aro out of town in order to have a decent family meeting." he said. Edward smiled.

"I can take care of that, Carlisle," he told my vampire father. "I'll just tell him about diffferent city that he can...hunt...in." Carlisle winced visibly when Edward said _hunt_. But Carlisle knew that there was no other way of getting Aro out of hearing range.

"I'll go with you, Edward," I said quickly. I really didn't want to be seperated from my vampire husband. I looked at Carlisle, nervous about giving him too much to do.

"Carlisle, would you mind watching Renesmee for a little bit?" I asked hesitantly. Carlisle smiled happily.

"Oh, I'd be glad to!" he replied cheerily. I smiled. Renesmee had my entire family wrapped tightly around her little pinky.

"Ready to go, love?" Edward asked. I nodded, smiling, and we were at the house in approximately two seconds.

"Aro?" Edward called as we stepped inside. Instantly, the ancient was in front of us. He looked out of place in this room, with his dark swirling robe that he still wore from the Volturi.

"Yes, my friends?" he asked eagerly. He held his hand out for our thoughts, but none of us did that. Because then he'd know our intentions of kicking him out.

"Aro, we have found a place for you to hunt more openly. There's a bigger population in this city." As soon as Edward said that, Aro was on his feet.

"Where?" he asked excitedly. Edward pulled out a map, and pointed to a city that was across the country.

"Over there, Chicago is what it's called. You can borrow our Mercedees." Aro swept up the keys, and flew into the garage. Once he was out of hearing distance, Edward began, turning to the rest of our family.

"Everyone, we need to have a family meeting. Carlisle is at our house, watching Renesmee. Would you mind coming to our cottage with us?" Everyone nodded, and we all ran to our little cottage, joining Carlisle around Nessie's crib.

"Ok, Aro is getting on our nerves," Edward began quietly. His irritation was evident on his face. I looked around, and sw most of our family nodding. In fact, everyone.

"What should we do?"

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**OK, I'm sorry, I know this wasn't my best chapter. But I haven't updated for a while, and besides, having Aro living with the Cullens was honestly getting on _my_ nerves! So, yeah, a nice and maybe critical, mistake-pointing-out, inspiring review would be nice! Thanks again to all of my wonderful reviewers, I'm going for 200 now.**


	26. Chapter 26

Everyone was silent as we comtemplated this dilema. Emmett was the first to break the silence.

"I think we should kick him all the way to-" Emmett began furiously.

"Emmett!" Esme scolded, cutting him off before he could say any more. Emmett looked slightly sheepish for a second, before irritation overruled his features.

"Sorry, Mom" he apologized. Esme just glared at him, and purposefully turned her back.

"Well, what should we do about him? If that isn't an option," Edward asked. I could tell that he liked Emmett's idea, even though he wouldn't voice that opinion.

"Well, we could send him off to less civilized spots, and by that I mean more of us," Jasper suggested, "the South, for instance." Alice gasped. I turned to look at her, wondering what she had seen.

"Yup, he'll do it...I see him....with...someone," Alice said, her eyes blank and staring.

"Who is it, Alice?" Jasper asked quietly, at her side. He guided her down to the ground, where she could sit. Alice turned to look at him with empty eyes.

"I...think...it's... Maria," she finally said as her eyes came slowly back into focus. Everyone stiffened at the mention of Jasper's creator. Naturally, the first to recover was Jasper.

"What was she doing?" he asked his wife. Alice leaned into him, and he wrapped his arms around her automatically.

"I should probably give you guys the whole story," Alice sighed, and then began.

"Wait, you're kidding!" gasped Emmett. "Maria is already creating an army to destroy the Volturi?!" Alice nodded gravely.

"Yes, Emmett, she is." Alice told him grimly.

"Well, then, what about the next part of the vision?" Carlisle asked, struggling to maintain his calm, relaxed posture.

"Next, in the future, I see Aro running straight into the unprepared army. We sent him South, for the feeding opportunities, and he ran into them by accident." Alice continued. I heard a tiny sound, coming from the crib. It sounded like a child's yawn. Renesmee. I stiffened. I had completely forgotten what time it was in the epic conversation we were having.

"Momma?" Nessie called out timidly.

"Right here, Nessie," I called back, sprinting into the room. I looked in horror at how small her crib had gotten. She had to curl into a ball just to fit.

"We need a new bed," Edward murmured, echoing my thoughts exactly. "But for now..." Edward walked over to the crib, and after llifting Renesmee out, carefully starting breaking off the bars. Nessie giggled at the sight. I turned to Edward, carefully peeling back my shield so that he could hear me without having to speak. _Do we continue the discussion around her?_ I asked mentally. He thought about it for a long second, then nodded, ever so slightly. I turned to my daughter to explain. I opened my mouth, about to speak, when Nessie rolled her eyes swiftly, cutting me off.

"Momma, did you know that I heard every word you guys were saying?" she told me in a bored tone. I glanced around at the other vampires, fully intending not to say anything. Renesmee huffed impatiently.

"Momma, Aro's been annoying me too!" she exclaimed. "And I understand every word you said, don't bother explaining! Now please, Alice, continue on the vision you were describing." Everyone automatically turned to Alice. She smiled at Renesmee, then continued describing her vision.

"OK, so, there was this huge battle. Aro fled, with Maria's army on his tail, and barely made it to Volterra for the wives, and the others." Alice glanced apologetically at Carlisle, whoose face was ashen, but resolved.

"Continue, please, Alice," he said, slightly faintly. Esme reached out and took his hand, gently rubbing soothing circles into the back of his hand.

"Ok....so...I'll summarize. In the end... Aro and his followers...were...destroyed." Alice again looked apologetically at Carlisle. Esme was standing behind him, her arms around his waist. I was sure that she was supporting all his weight. Carlisle's face was so ashen gray, I was actually afraid that he might pass out, if that was possible for vampires. But I sympathized with him, having to hear Alice predict your friend's death. And what's more, she was predicting the death of Carlisle's friend, whom he had known for probably somewhere around 200 years. When reflecting on it like that, I was surprised that Carlisle had had the courage to tell Alice to continue.

"Well," Carlisle murmured in a strained tone once he had recovered enough to talk, "That settles the issues." Renesmee's face was solemn, showing polite respect. It was way beyond her age, but I was beyond being surprised y my daughter's progress any more.

"But," Jasper reminded us, "this vision is the future. If we don't do the things that Alice said we would do, then that won't happen. We'll have to deal with the same issues that you just said were solved, Carlisle." Jasper looked as much in pain as Carlisle did, probably due to the emotional connection between Jasper and everyone in the room. A silence ensued. Edward was the first to break it.

"Carlisle?" he asked softly. What a gentleman Edward was, leaving the choice up to Carlisle. However, I could tell how difficult the choice was for Jasper. If I had the choice to kill or save a friend that had I had known for at least two hundred plus years, then I would be in as much pain as Carlisle was at the moment. A movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention, and I realized that it was the movements of heads turning to look at Carlisle. Automatically, I followed suit.

A silence ensued as Carlisle comtemplated this decision. The seconds ticked by as we waited for an answer. Absently, I wondered if Carlisle was even capable of making any reply, looking the way he did now. Something moved in my line of sight, and I concentrated on it.

Slowly, so small a movement that it was barely perceptible, Carlisle nodded.

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**Review, please!**


	27. Chapter 27

**I'm so, so, so sorry for not updating. But anyway, here's the next chapter.**

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I glanced at my husband's face to see what his reaction was. All I saw in Edward's face was compassion, sympathy for Carlisle.

"Umm...maybe he should sit down?" I offered to Esme, glancing at Carlisle's white face. I dashed over to help her set him in a chair.

"Thanks" she whispered into my ear. I only grinned at her in response.

We all watched Carlisle to see what he would do next. He slowly raised his eyes and focused on Edward.

"Speak my thoughts, Edward, please," he begged. Edward nodded, then his face became robotic as he translated Carlisle's thoughts.

"I only said that because it's the only option left," Edward said in Carlisle's voice. Esme rubbed Carlisle's arm sympathetically.

"Aro is obviously becoming an issue, for myself as much as the rest of you. But I don't want to have to kill him with my own hands. As much as he is an annoyance, he was the first vampie that I bonded with since my new birth. I cannot kill a friend. But, sending him to a different city to - feed - would partly be helping him, wouldn't it?" Carlisle took a ragged breath.

"So, I guess it's settled." After this last sentence, my husband became himself again, and I cuddled into his side. He wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my arms with the sympathy we all shared for Carlisle.

"When, then?" Edward asked after a long silence. "Oh, ok." he answered his own question quickly, to spare Carlisle the effort of speaking.

"When Aro gets back," he told the rest of us. Then he thoughtfully turned to Carlisle. "You know, if we don't want Aro to get suspicious, you should probably get some rest so that you don't look like you do now." I nodded in agrreement, and Carlisle surveyed our faces.

"Ok," he agreed, then shakily pulled himself up from the chair. "No, I'm fine. I think," he added to Esme when she rushed to help him.

"Happy thoughts, happy thoughts," we all heard him murmuring to himself.

"Nessie" I murmured. She looked up at me happily.

"Yes, Momma?" she asked.

"Let's get your grandpa home." I told her, and looked at Carlisle. His face was slowly recovering its color, but I was still worried nonetheless. Carlsle and Esme got up, with Esme following Carlisle closely, ready to catch him if he were to pass out. By the time we got back to the house, at a human walking pace, Carlisle's face was back to its normal color. As we opened the door and walked in, I seriously began to think that he might be ok after all. To confirm my thoughts, Carlisle took a deep breath and turned to Esme.

"I think I'm all right now." he said in his normal tone.

"Now, to create a casual scene?" Jasper asked us all. "Like, maybe Carlisle and I were just looking at more cities?" Jasper walked over to the computer, sat down, and dragged another chair up so that Carlisle could sit next to him, creating the image of study. Carlisle pulled up a massive globe, and began pointing at random countries, calling out the names of random cities.

"Venice?" he murmured quietly. Jasper pulled up a search engine, and typed it in along with the word "population". They murmured in hushed voices as they pretended to compare populations of different cities.

"Well, I know what we could do," Emmett boomed, then grabbed Rose and dashed upstairs.

"Ugh," moaned Edward, "Bella, can we go now?" I laughed, but nodded. With my vampire hearing, I wasn't sure if I could hear them or not, and I really didn't want to find out.

"Nessie, we're going home," I called out, "You can stay with Jake if you want." For Jake, Seth, Leah, Quil, and Embry had just arrived at the door, waving with polite smiles. Even Leah.

"Where is everyone? Where are you two going? What happened? Is Nessie all right?" Jake asked in a rush, then dashed over and started examining my daughter. Seth mirrored my actions exactly, rolling his eyes and then saying,

"Jake, nothing's wrong with Nessie." Seth and I looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

"Really, Jake," I pursued, "Nothing's wrong with her. We're trying to provide a casual atmosphere, nothing happened except for an agreement on the issue of Aro-"

"The jerk," Jacob muttered.

"-and Edward and I are going home because we really don't want to hear the actions of certain people upstairs." Jacob's face turned to first horror, and then suddenly his face turned mischievous as he realized what I meant, and also which two people that was.

"Ha! I'll never forget that," he chuckled to himself as he contemplated the possibilities for teasing Rosalie with that.

"Jacob, don't be too mean. She's been fairly accepting of your situation with Nessie," I told him firmly. His face fell slightly, but then he worked it back up to an indifference, and shrugged. Accepting that temporarily, I turned to Edward. Reading my mind, he nodded, and we ran off towards our house, leaving Nessie at Carlisle and Esme's house.

However, we didn't go all the way to our house, just towards town so that we could see when Aro was coming. Tentatively, I squatted down next to my husband in the bushes, and settled down to wait.


	28. Chapter 28

**Here goes the last chapter!**

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We didn't have to wait for long. Shortly after we had settled down to wait, we could begin to see Aro's faint shape, moving apathetically through the town. Edward nudged me, and I looked up, then nodded, accepting his signal. Together, we flew through the woods, ending up in the front lawn of the Cullens's house. The elder Cullens, that is.

"Carlisle? Esme? He's coming." Edward murmured quietly as we entered the house. However soft his voice was, I knew that my step-parents would hear it. Emmett and Rosalie stopped briefly in their action upstairs, presumably to listen. We all heard it, the faint rhythmic fluttering steps of Aro. I took a look at where everyone was: Alice and Jasper were huddled over some maps, (I intended to join them shortly) and Edward headed over to the piano. Carlisle and Esme were settled in facing recliners, Esme reading a small paperback, turning pages every ten seconds. Carlisle was flipping through a medical journal, looking very much normal.

"We'll say it, Carlisle," Jasper spoke softly. Carlisle glanced up from his medical journal, and nodded, a slight shadow of his former faintness passing over his face. Nodding gratefully at Jasper, I headed over to join them, peering at the maps.

We all appeared engrossed in our work, except for Rosalie and Emmett, who I really didn't want to see.

We all waited cautiously, until the door suddenly swung open with a faint whoosh.

"Hello, friends!" Aro greeted happily, eyes a slightly brighter red, although not quite satisfied.

"Did you quench your thirst?" I asked politely, studying his eyes. Aro frowned slightly.

"No, I actually did not. I was trying not to cause suspicion in such small towns." he replied. I glanced at Jasper, and he took the cue.

"Actually, Aro," he began, "We were just examining these maps here, and it seems that the South has a rather high population. If you wish, you could go and satisfy your thirst now. We would not take it as rude." Aro's face visibly lit up.

"Really, my friends? Thank you, very much. Good-bye, and I will see you in some days!" And with a fluttery wave, Aro was off again, this time to his death.

We all sat silently, listening to Aro's footsteps fade away. When the last sound disappeared, we all waited cautiously for someone to say something. As no one did, the seconds ticked by. A full ten seconds after we had last heard Aro depart, Carlisle let out a shaky breath.

"Well, that solves things," he said, smiling around at all of us, even Emmett and Rosalie who had dressed and were standing at the top of the stairs. Again, everyone waited for someone to move. Another twenty seconds passed before Emmett smiled at Carlisle, a grin that showed all of his teeth.

And then it began.

Everyone was suddenly smiling, the couples were embracing, and Alice danced over and put on music. Edward's arms wrapped around me, and I leaned back into his chest.

"We did it, Edward," I whispered.

"Yes, we did," he murmured back before kissing me.

Slowly, the sky turned darker as the vampire party progressed. Eventually, we all took our leave of the Cullen party. Nessie, Edward and I walked together, holding hands, with Nessie in the middle. We looked like a true family, if not a human one. Departing in the other direction, Rose and Emmett headed off to their own grand house, also holding hands.

"I have a surprise for you two," Edward said suddenly, grinning in the darkness. "Well, actually for Nessie, but you'll love it too. Bella, close your eyes. I'm holding Nessie." Sure enough, Renesmee's little hand soon disappeared from my own, and Edward's took its place.

"Now, follow me." Edward's voice was like a beacon in the darkness of my closed eyes, leading me towards his surprise.

"Ok, now...stop. Nessie, close your eyes too." Edward's voice turned playfully stern as he spoke the last sentence to our daughter. I smiled, listening to the crickets chirp and the various nocturnal animals stir, the sounds of night peace. Or actually, I corrected myself mentally, it was only peace because I was the greatest predator, at the top of the food chain.

The sounds of the door to our cottage opening brought me back to the world outside of my mental musings. My hand was again taken up, and I was led through our various rooms, finally being told to stop again.

"Now, you can open your eyes, Bella. Bella only," he added sternly. As I opened my eyes, I heard one of my favorite sounds, my daughter's little giggle.

"OK, Nessie, now you can open your eyes," he said again, before I had a chance to perceive anything. But I heard the gasp leave my own mouth at the sight ahead of me, and so as not to miss anything, I flipped my head around to watch my daughter's reaction. Her face was a hilarious open-mouthed gape, and I smiled at the sight. I did not, however, laugh, due to my own breathlessness of gratitude.

Ahead of us was an adorable child's bed, decorated with various images of playful, wolves. The background was a dark blue sky on the top half of the decorated headboard and foot-board, and at the bottom was a field of grass, tainted dark colors by the night. The sky was sprinkled with glittering yellow stars, and above it all, a full moon glowed.

"Courtesy of Jacob and Billy Black," Edward said at my side.

Unable to speak, I turned around and kissed him, revealing all my awe, shock, and thanks in that one motion of love. When I turned around again, Nessie had crawled into bed, and pulled the also-decorated bedsheets around her neck.

"Goodnight Mommy, goodnight Daddy," she said, and fell asleep.


	29. Author's Note

**Hey, Life After Breaking Dawn readers!!!**

**I've made a decision. So many people have expressed regret at the ending of this story, so.....I will be writing a sequel!**

**Ideas would be helpful, if you have any. I'm still blank, and I can't post the sequel until I have an idea for a plot of some kind......**


	30. The Sequel Is Up!

**Okay, so the sequel is posted, thanks to my new beta, Twilight-BellaC! To find it, you can search for me as an author (dogsrplayful) and click on my profile, and from there get to the story. It's called "Life after Breaking Dawn: The Sequel" if you would like to search for the story by the story keywords.**

**Enjoy!**

**~dogsrplayful**


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